South African insurer Old Mutual Ltd reported a 28% rise in full-year earnings on Wednesday as it benefited from double-digit sales and new business growth.
Its headline earnings per share (HEPS), a profit measure, was at 165.5 South African cents in the year to Dec. 31, up from 129.2 cents posted a year earlier. Adjusted HEPS grew by 21%.
The insurer declared a final dividend of 49 cents per share, up 4%.
Old Mutual, the largest life insurer in South Africa, has managed to recover following a tough period that saw COVID-19-led mortality claims and business interruptions.
Rising interest rates and tough domestic economic conditions such as daily power cuts have made the outlook risky for insurance firms. “Profitability remained strong despite the challenging operating environment,” Old Mutual said.
Results from operations increased by 14% to 8.3 billion rand ($437 million) driven by strong sales growth in operational performance in Africa, Mass and Foundation cluster and Old Mutual Corporate.
The group delivered sales growth of 17% to 14.6 billion rand across its life segments as it grew market share profitably within key markets, it said.
Consequently, the value of new business grew 37%. Its gross written premiums were up by 14% to 25.5 billion rand from the prior year.
Reuters
